Many are calling it do-or-die for **Arsenal**as they travel to play against Manchester City on Sunday.
Their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table could come unstuck with another loss, and the Carabao Cup champions have a mental edge thanks to their triumph at Wembley Stadium. Since then, City have hit their stride while the Gunners have stumbled. But now is the time for them to show a steely streak: Mikel Arteta and his players are desperate to end years of hurt at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City 3-0 Arsenal (17.06.2020)
Before the two teams could think of calling themselves fellow contenders for the top titles, Arteta already had a history with City. After finishing his playing career in 2016, the Spaniard set about becoming the assistant coach for **Pep Guardiola**at Manchester City, staying in the role until 2019.
The temptation of a post as the manager of the Gunners was too good to turn down. However, there would be constant reminders for the novice he had chosen to take on a demanding task in the capital.
As **Premier League**action got back underway with ‘Project Restart’ in June, **Arsenal**arrived at the fallen champions for a big test. The Citizens were cruising to second spot in the table, and they were aiming to create a feel-good factor that could fuel success for the group in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, everything went wrong for their guests. A collision between Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka left the Swiss coming off on a stretcher, then Pablo Mari suffered an Achilles injury against his old club, forcing David Luiz to enter the field in an attempt to patch up the backline.
The Brazilian was guilty of slashing the ball before Raheem Sterling struck first near half time, then he was dismissed for a foul on Riyad Mahrez. **Kevin de Bruyne**bagged from the penalty spot, and Phil Foden filled his boots in the latter stages. **Arsenal**had a lot of work to do to get back to the elite.
Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal (29.08.2021)
That harsh reality was reinforced with a brutal beatdown in the summer of 2021. The Gunners lost 1-0 at the **Etihad Stadium**in their first full campaign under Arteta. Back-to-back 8th place finishes were not inspiring fans that a turnaround would quickly come about, and the new season started miserably.
A 2-0 defeat to promoted **Brentford**on the opening matchday set the tone for an awful August, and the slide continued with a 2-0 loss against Champions League holders Chelsea. The prospect of playing against City, butthurt by the blow in Porto, went about as badly one could have imagined.
Ilkay Gundogan grabbed the first goal of the game, followed up by Ferran Torres in less than 12 minutes. To make matters worse, Xhaka lunged into a challenge on Joao Cancelo and got his marching orders. In the sweltering sun, the Gunners would be made to toil until the final whistle.
Gabriel Jesus joined the scoring party in the second half, then **Rodri**rattled home an effort from 20 yards. Torres took his chance to slot away a second strike six minutes from time, and the humiliation was complete. Scoreless and winless in three fixtures, **Arsenal**appeared to be going nowhere fast.
Manchester City 4-1 Arsenal (26.04.2023)
A Mancunian masterclass marked the end was nigh for more aspirational **Arsenal**the next season.
The Gunners were firing on all cylinders for most of the 2022/23 campaign, coming into the run-in with almost double-digit points on the Citizens, who had just one game in hand (sound familiar?)
However, things started to go wrong at Anfield: a 2-0 lead after a focused first half hour melted against the Reds, who rallied to a 2-2 draw. The same scoreline happened the next week at the London Stadium against West Ham, and a 3-3 stalemate with **Southampton**spelled big trouble.
To avoid their longest winless streak of the season, **Arsenal**had to take something from the trip to the champions. But City had established their end-of-season groove, giving Erling Haaland and **Kevin de Bruyne**the platform to wreak havoc with the stable core of four central defenders at the back.
Haaland had his way with the backline, assisting de Bruyne twice before wrapping up the scoring in injury time. A late consolation effort from **Rob Holding**had stopped few from thinking that the inevitable would occur, and City continued their charge to greatness, winning it all by June.
Manchester City 0-0 Arsenal (31.03.2024)
The Gunners had to win again to stay near the mountaintop, proving they were not a flash in the pan.
Declan Rice and **Kai Havertz**had been acquired from fellow **Premier League**outfits for a total fee of £170 million, and after a slower start to the season, the team went through the gears in early 2024. While watching **Liverpool**and City clash in a 1-1 draw at Anfield, **Arsenal**earned a 2-1 victory over **Brentford**towards the beginning of March that put the group back at the summit of the division.
The return from the international break marked the start of another run-in, and no better place to provide an insight into future successes or failures than a trip to the Etihad Stadium. In the end, Arteta’s men managed to grind out a goalless stalemate that was not one to remember for the neutral.
In retrospect, one can look at this draw in two ways. They had avoided another beatdown at a bogey ground, setting the standards of defensive discipline in their best run-in under Arteta. But playing not to lose rather than to try to win, even if it was understandable against the last year’s treble winners, meant City had not suffered a knockout blow. They sat three points behind league leading **Liverpool**and one behind Arsenal, whose 2-0 loss to Aston Villa in April would eventually decide the title race.
Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal (22.09.2024)
A stalemate of different sort took place the last time that Arteta’s men travelled to the Etihad.
At the outset of the 2024/25 campaign, Riccardo Calafiori came in as one of three acquisitions to try to get over the line. But a baptism of fire followed the Italian up into the blue half of Manchester as **Savinho**strolled past him on his full debut, releasing Haaland to break the deadlock in the 9th minute.
Slowly but surely, the visitors found their feet. This was the fixture infamous for the ACL injury that ruled out **Rodri**for the rest of the campaign weeks before the announcement of his Ballon d’Or feat.
Not long later, Kyle Walker was caught out of position as **Arsenal**funnelled the ball leftward, and Calafiori conjured up his first mad moment of magic: an arcing strike that flew beyond Ederson. Then, Gabriel Magalhaes made his typical impact from a corner, and Arteta’s men went ahead.
However, Leandro Trossard would be responsible for self-inflicted damage, booting the ball into the air after a whistle from the referee. On the stroke of half time, his second yellow card left **Arsenal**down to ten men, and it would be backs against the walls for the guests for the rest of the encounter.
The second half had the hallmarks of the gritty showing from six months prior: the difference being that the defensive heroics would be thwarted in the cruellest of ways. Despite several saves from David Raya, a well-worked corner saw John Stones scramble the ball home deep into injury time.